Don’t Miss the Giant Robot Fight of the Year: MegaBots vs Suidobashi

Forget about Science Channel’s BattleBots because the highly anticipated GIANT ROBOT FIGHT of the year just happened and it was insane!

We see Giant robot fights everywhere in TV series and movies these days. If you’re a robot fan, you might have probably watched Hugh Jackman’s 2011 film, Real Steel. The story was set in 2020 where towering robots have already replaced humans in the boxing arena.

The movie features the story of Charlie Kenton (Jackman) and his son Max (Dakota Goyon) as they fought their way up to the top of the mainstream robo-boxing competition with their sparring robot Atom. Despite a Rotten Tomatoes 59% rating, the film was a total box office hit with nearly $300 million USD earnings worldwide.

Atom and Charlie shadow boxing in Real Steel | Tumblr | tumblr.com

What does this prove?

The massive success of Real Steel just goes to show how robot fighting continues to capture the human imagination. Is that not enough evidence? Just check out the vast following of the real-life machine fighting show BattleBots on the Science Channel.

However, BattleBots doesn’t have sprockets on the Giant Robot Fight from last night.

The Making of a History: How the Giant Robot Fight Came to Be

It was two years ago when the whole world was promised a giant robot duel pitting the United States against Japan. Early summer of 2015, U.S.-based robotics company MegaBots challenged Japan-based company Suidobashi Heavy Industries to a robot fight.

To the delight of millions of people worldwide, Suidobashi took the challenge, but under one condition: it has to be melee combat!

Melee combat is a term popularized in many war games. Melee, in layman’s terms, means fighting hand-to-hand or with a non-projectile or non-ranged weapon like a sword or a club. Suidobashi wanted close-ranged combat, citing that attaching guns to robots is “super American.”

Back then, MegaBots had the Mk.II robot which fires paintballs and tops out at 2.5 mph. Obviously, the mech requires an enormous upgrade, and so the company turned to Kickstarter to raise funds and make the momentous event a reality.

Over two years after the deal was sealed, MegaBots was able to raise more than $500,000 USD to upgrade its machine which it unveiled last August for the giant robot battle: the Eagle Prime.

The $2.5 million robot seats two, weighs around 12 tons, stands 16 feet tall, and is powered by a 430 horsepower V8 LS3 engine, according to PC Mag.

On the other hand, Eagle Prime’s opponent, Suidobashi’s Kuratas, weighs 6.5 tons and stands at 13 feet tall. Both mech giants were piloted by the founders of both companies during the battle: MegaBots’ Gui Cavalcanti and Matt Oehrlein and Suidobashi’s Kogoro Kurata.

Giant Robot Fight 2017: Eagle Prime vs. Kuratas

The long-awaited match between Eagle Prime and Kuratas was aired last night via MegaBots Twitch stream. However, the fight was not a live broadcast since the duel already happened and was taped back in September in an abandoned Japanese steel mill.

The duel was billed as the ‘first ever giant robot fight.’ In an interview with Morning Edition host Rachel Martin, Cavalcanti was quoted as saying:

“This is a personal dream of mine come to life.”

During the first round of the fight, Japan’s Kuratas effortlessly knocked out an older MegaBots MKII robot, Iron Glory, with a single punch! The defeat gave Japan the advantage over its U.S.A. contender.

I don’t know what happened, but the moment just made me laugh hysterically!

Iron Glory got knocked out by Kuratas | MegaBots | megabots.com

Apparently, Iron Glory’s heavy built and weight was not enough to stop the Kuratas who quickly charged towards it. The fight was finished in just a little over a minute. Fortunately, the Iron Glory pilot survived the slightly embarrassing fall.

The next round, the main event, pits MegaBots’ Eagle Prime against the Kuratas.

The Kuratas initially took cover behind the wall of barrels while the Eagle Prime made its first move, firing paintballs at its opponent.

Eagle Prime then proceeded with another shot that successfully hit the barrel walls where Kuratas was taking refuge. The U.S. bot moved forward, crushed some more barrels on its way and fired a third shot, this time hitting Kuratas on the shoulder.

Following the assault, Kuratas retaliated by flying a drone towards Eagle Prime. The U.S. team was not deterred by the drone and immediately crushed it without a sweat!

With its drone gone, Kuratas was left with no option but to make its first attack. It launched towards the Prime, which in turn, sent old vehicles flying its way. The Japanese contender was able to stir away from the falling cars, successfully closing the gap between it and the Eagle Prime.

Eagle Prime and Kuratas first contact | MegaBots | megabots.com

Kuratas rained Eagle Prime with punches to the body. The latter answered the close-ranged assault with gunfire. Eagle Prime then used its left cannon barrels to land solid hits on Kuratas’ midsection, successfully causing severe damage.

However, just when things are heating up, the alarm went on, signaling the end of the first round.

After a few minutes, the giant robot fight resumed with Eagle Prime making the first move. Kuratas tried to stop the massive American robot with quick gunshots from its gatling weapon. However, the U.S. mech survived the fire assault and continued in its slow approach towards Kuratas, smashing anything that’s blocking its way.

The two robots ended up in another melee. Prime activated its chainsaw and crushed Kuratas’ gatling gun. The American giant robot went on with its attack, moving the large chainsaw all the way up to Kuratas’ right shoulder, causing panic among the announcers and people watching the fight.

Smokes filled the arena and metal pieces went flying around.

Eagle Prime crushing Kuratas | MegaBots | megabots.com

The sound of the alarm was finally heard. The camera then focused to the two robots and showed Kuratas cornered and severely damaged by Eagle Prime’s killer chainsaw. The battle has been won, and EAGLE PRIME claimed the first giant robot fight trophy!

Below’s a full video of the historical fight!

What can you say about this giant robot fight? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!